News Blog

Having a family pet can bring a lot of love, joy and companionship. For many, they consider their animals similar to son and daughters, brothers or sister. The pet becomes a family member. They are there when you wake up and go to sleep. They...

Those who have the privilege and burden of taking care of an ailing family member are often overwhelmed. There are various ways that someone ends up being a caretaker for an ailing family member. Maybe in-depth planning resulting in a family...

Have you ever sat and contemplated how people will remember you after you die. Will the things you did and the relationships you built matter? When your loved ones are at your funeral celebrating your life will there be story after story of how...

Many of you probably heard about the news story recently that followed a mother Killer Whale as she carried her dead calf for an unprecedented 17 days. Researchers have been keeping tabs on a group of endangered killer whales in and near British...

by Chaplain Julia Rajtar What do you tell a child after their mother or father, or a sibling has died? Families struggle with thoughts such as: I’m not sure what to say, I don’t want to cause more pain, I want to protect them from this pain so...

Let’s be honest. Sometimes when you are grieving, you just don’t want to have to think about the pain or loss. Here are five relatively simple and healthy ways to keep you distracted from your grief. Sweat for the Endorphins Exercise until...

An easy way to help the family of the deceased is helping take care of some of the food for after the funeral. Whether you are making a recipe for a group after a memorial service or funeral, or bringing food to the family during their time of...

By Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC Most of us when we think of grief, understand grieving as a model identified by Elizabeth Kubler Ross, in her book, On Death and Dying, 1969. In her well-known work, she stated that her book was about...

There is nothing quite like losing a spouse or a partner. A spouse is someone who is there with you to make decisions about almost everything from finances to what’s for dinner. When you are in a marriage many of the simple decisions of daily...

Have you ever felt a gust of wind that sounded like the whisper of a voice you once knew? Has a butterfly fluttered in your presence, floating through the air almost as if you have met before? There are many beliefs or “old wives tales”, that...

By Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC When a loved one dies, we often turn to family members to support us in our grief. Those who know us best should be able to support us in our time of pain and sorrow. Much to my astonishment, this is...

Father’s Day comes once a year. It kind of sneaks into our schedule often overshadowed by Mother’s Day and the transition from spring to summer weather. Often a quick run to the store produces a new tie and maybe some grilling tools for...